The news broke on Thursday that DeKalb County Superintendent Devon Horton was accused in a federal indictment of awarding contracts to his friends and accepting thousands of dollars in kickbacks in his last job. DeKalb leaders quickly put Horton on administrative leave and named an acting superintendent.

But the allegations about Horton have been public for years — some dating back to before he was hired to lead Georgia’s third-largest school system.

News outlets that cover the Evanston-Skokie School District 65 outside of Chicago and individuals there who reviewed public records have reported that Horton awarded no-bid contracts to his business partners and racked up unauthorized expenses on the district’s credit cards — allegations similar to the ones in the indictment filed in Illin

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